Here we go – southbound Masonic at Anza. The left turn pocket lane that this robot might have been expecting is now gone, due to the endless construction projects in and around the 3000 feet of Masonic betwixt Fell and Geary, so Mr Roboto patiently waits, doing nothing. There’s a short left turn arrow at the beginning of the cycle at this unusual intersection, but somehow this self-driving car (or its human driver IDK) missed that chance to turn so it had to wait like 30 seconds blocking southbound Masonic’s “fast” lane:

Not that that’s agin the rules or anything, but blocked drivers honk-honked nevertheless.

Man, look at all the ppl riding around in these cars these days:

And actually, if I did miss the left arrow phase, which I wouldn’t have, I wouldn’t then wait so far back for my second chance at making a left as my light went amber – no no, I’d firmly get into the intersection to show my intentions of going left, for one thing.

I’d agree that It Aint Easy To Drive In Frisco and I’ll note that it seems that GM’s finishing school for robot cars appears to have a tough curriculum, what with all the Cruises I see cruising by / stopping at construction sites these days. But…

Here we go, Irving Street on a dreaded sunny day in the Middle Sunset or the Inner Sunset or the Outer Sunset – I’ve heard this nabe described as all three:

This area is a tad less difficult for a poorly-developed robot car to drive on than, say, Clement in the Inner Richmond, but there are plenty of bad pedestrians and illegal parkers on this part of Irving as well of course.

This seemed a touch early to be halfway through the intersection, given the position of these peds:

And it was hard to tell what this Volvo was thinking after seeing it go for a few blocks.

Like IMO, this start was a bit abrupt, as if the driver dozed off for a few seconds and then all of a sudden woke up and said let’s go let’s go:

You know what, I’m think that this triple brake push at a four-way stop is an indication of something not being kosher. I cry foul.

And you know, when I teach people how to drive, I emphasize the importance of creeping a little bit at first to show others intent – like all right, I’m going now. This rushed start didn’t match the otherwise cautious, deliberate conduct.

Of course, this UBER drives better than most on the Streets of San Francisco.

Here’s the thing about Fell Street – you gotta wait a looong time to cross it during rush hour, cause signal timing changes based upon what day of the week it is. I’m srsly.

So if you get a red light, it’s your obligation to look about and then decide whether to turn right on red.

And that brings us to this sad scene, with the UBER Volvo just parked at a red, patiently waiting, for a loooooong time. Check it:

Now I’m not saying that this Volvo should just stop for an instant and then take off willy-nilly. No no. You gotta creep a bit, you know, see how things look. And then you creep a bit more. And then look, it’s clear, and now you’re on the trolley. And, due to the timed lights setup, you’ve guaranteed yourself a green at the next light, and so on, and so on.

And then when your ride wants to sail through a red light, say the unexpected one installed mid-block out in front of our world-famous SFMOMA on Third, well, you just might get terminated, with extreme prejudice, oh well.